New Rules for Co Postings

[sprayandpray]

Those of us that work for a certain Very Large Locating Co (VLCC) were delivered new rules through a new piece of employee reference/guide material.

Basically it says we cannot use the name of the VLLC or the names of it's many, many customers in any type of forum, blog, website, etc.

Furthermore, the use of it's logo, or the logo of any of it's many, many customers, is also prohibited.

Also, they ban the use of profanity and /or any derogatory remarks directed towards them or any of their many, many customers.

And ,in so many words, they will be scouring the internet to find any of the above infractions and attempt to identify the perpetrators of these treasonous acts.

So, in the future, all information sharing should be done in code to protect those among us that would consider such heinous behavior.

Of course, being the loyal and faithful employee I have always been, I would never engage in any of the described activities and therefore have no fear of reprisals.

Have a Good Day --- but not on company time.

[fiberlocator99]

this should and would only apply to that companies employees and only during company time which you should not be on those kinds of sites especially this one while on the clock and on company provided laptops. freedom of speech we all have and can and should be able to say what we want but not on comany time. what is usic getting upset that because they are having problems with new hires who are discouraged working for them because of what they have heard by word of mouth? sorry usic truth is the truth if they dont like it, then quit screwing over all your veteran employees who are the real revenue generators for the company and start treating them right.

[animal]

i find this funny. but then thats what you get out of companys that lie when they fire people

[locator00566]

Yeah I read the same newly revised handbook today. It had almost a whole page on "social networking" policies. Maybe if I keep posting the truth about this company, they will find out who I am and fire me. Probably would be the best thing to ever happen to me. But as long as its not on company time we can say what we want about them. If someone gets fired over this, it will be a lawsuit waiting to happen.

[TheCableVine]

I have some experience (not much but some) in this area. They revised the company handbook so they CAN fire you. They have an expectation of loyalty from their employees which is not unreasonable. And, if their employees are talking shit about their customers then they have a duty to stop it.

I don't work for VLLC nor do I have any contact with them, but I'm just sayin'.

FYI... I don't give out any information on any of the members here to anyone. Whether they be frequent posters or lurkers everyone is treated the same when it comes to privacy.

[Dave72]

Dunno about various regions of the US,but up here.. if you want to be a member of the Gay Clowns Alliance, then thats ok.. because its not work- connected. But if you spent your free time talking about or slandering your employer it's no longer 'free speech" and is the same family as talking about corp secrets etc. There is a fine line you can surf, commenting on your employer, the main consideration is avoid naming certain parties etc

[Turk182]

I have some experience (not much but some) in this area. They revised the company handbook so they CAN fire you. They have an expectation of loyalty from their employees which is not unreasonable. And, if their employees are talking shit about their customers then they have a duty to stop it.

Loyalty does not over ride and individual's freedom of speech, and any company that fires someone for that very thing if done on the employees off hours is just begging for a lawsuit on constitutional grounds, and the right lawyer would use it to pick apart the companies policies and actions over a long period of time and drag all their dirty laundry through a federal court.

I have no idea who is running USIC right now, they don't have the sense god gave a goat.

[ProfessionalLocator]

In general an employer can demand a level of loyalty where an employee may not disparage the firm.

There has been a recent court decision based on discipline / termination of an employee's internet postings which confirms an employee still has a level of freedom of speech. Got to get to work, can't look it up right now.

Over the years I have observed there are some employers where the law plays no part in their decision making. They count on their employees not suing them and in most cases this works.

[Reece]

My favorite is the new Mission Statement. "Maximizing Shareholder Value"?

Don't they really mean- take as much as you can of what benefits are left so investors make their money?

I mean who really cares about the employees right?

Kind of interesting that we are owned by a pension fund of the Teamsters who gouge every company they work for to benefit their workers and expect the exact opposite from the companies they own to provide them with great retirement. And we just fall into line like mindless sheep!

[Mke]

I understand where VLLC and their like is coming from. You almost have to attempt to stop it. Wheather there is a leg to stand on or not you always tell people to stop, that will stop 30% of people complaining where everyone can read it, but the other 70% tends not to listen or becomes creative in skirting the issue. When it comes down to it, the company will usually not do anything unless it is flopped in front of their faces. Its a scare tactic.

I know from where I work, we are a little more protective of certian information and we have to take ethics classes to understand why we are so protective. They draw a line between complaints, and slander or secured information.

Mke

[orangeboots]

I'm pretty sure a company with 5 or 6 thousand employees had a lawyer or 2 look it over before they put it in effect. I would bet they checked out recent court decisions on the Internet and free speech. It was my understanding that they were only talking about bashing people or companies on their time not personal time.

[Bad Robot]

I for one am not surprised. Every single thing they roll out is for the "shareholder". To hell with the worker. To hell with the community. To hell with the USA. Vampires have more class.

[paintitnow]

i heard that pay periods bridging two different years and merging of two different payroll has caused a major snafu for a certain locating company.

[sprayandpray]

i heard that pay periods bridging two different years and merging of two different payroll has caused a major snafu for a certain locating company.

It happened to some but was quickly handled and corrected for the majority of people. I can't wait for the new billing/ticketing system to take effect - Ha!

[The Big-E]

You guys are all on T-Rx now aren't you?